| James Kon |
FRONTLINE civil servants will be expected to provide better customer service to members of the public following the launch of the ‘Customer Friendly Service Programme’ by Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohamad Roselan bin Haji Mohamad Daud, Acting Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) yesterday at the Theatre Hall of the PMO building.
The ‘Customer Friendly Service Programme’ is an initiative by the PMO’s Management Services Department aimed at improving customer satisfaction levels. A total of 40 government agencies have been identified as having to frequently deal with customers.
In his remarks, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohamad Roselan explained, “In the era of globalisation and a changing environment, the main challenge, especially for government agencies is to continue to improve customer satisfaction and to be more responsive to the needs of the public.”
Recalling His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s titah in conjunction with the 22nd Civil Service Day in 2015, he further highlighted, “His Majesty stated that the civil servants need to understand the public’s needs, especially those of entrepreneurs and investors. They always expect the best: fast, quality treatment and the demonstration of leadership; if we fail to deliver this, this signifies failure on the government’s part.
“The government has always tried to introduce and implement programmes as well as activities that are geared towards providing excellent and the best services. This is evident in Brunei Darussalam’s improvement in the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) rankings in recent years,” the acting minister stated. “This drive to improve Brunei’s EODB was led personally by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, as Chairman of the Steering Committee of the movement.”
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohamad Roselan bin Haji Mohamad Daud, Acting Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office delivering his speech at the launch. – PHOTOS: JAMES KON
Guests at the launching of the ‘Customer Friendly Service Programme’
Through a whole-of-government approach, the acting minister said that “various initiatives have been implemented including the introduction of processes as well as new regulations aimed at improving customer service and facilitating the set up of businesses in Brunei Darussalam”.
Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohamad Roselan added that the country must not be complacent, and still needs to keep looking for areas where customer service can be improved. Working towards this, the Government of His Majesty has also drafted a Civil Service Framework (RKPA), which was first introduced in 2016.
The RKPA, he pointed out, “supports the realisation of Brunei Vision 2035 through one of its strategies, an institution development strategy which plays a role towards providing Excellence Service Delivery as an outcome on the national level. The PMO as the joint lead places focus on service delivery in the public service, and this is measured through the Government Effectiveness Index.”
As a means towards improving the Government Effectiveness Index, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohamad Roselan said, “The RKPA has helped the government in the reformation of the civil service. It serves as a transformational action plan, giving focus on leadership, excellence in governance, and providing services to facilitate the economic growth of the country. RKPA is supported by three themes, namely leadership excellence, organisational productivity, and pro-business and pro-public environment.”
The PMO, he revealed, “has set the target of 90 per cent level in customer satisfaction for the financial year 2019/2020 through its key performance indicators (KPIs) under the theme Pro-Business and Public Environment. The anticipated outcome is an increase in customer satisfaction levels which will be measured through the Customer Feedback Survey conducted by the Management Services Department.”
Yesterday’s launching ceremony was also attended by the permanent secretaries, deputy permanent secretaries, heads of departments and officials from various ministries.
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